Stay on target

There’s still another movie in between us and Avengers: Infinity War, but you know how Marvel does things by now. The hype train starts at least two or three movies out. We probably have a little bit to wait before new footage from the movie is released, but a new comic will get you up to speed on everything that happens just before Infinity War starts. Black Panther will fill us in on what happens to T’Challa directly after the events of Captain America: Civil War. Presumably the opening moments of Infinity War will fill us in on what the rest of the Avengers have been up to. But what about the Winter Soldier himself, Bucky Barnes. We’ve seen him in the trailer, so how did he get unfrozen? That’s where this comic comes in.

As We Got This Coveredreports, Avengers: Infinity War Prelude #1 will show us what’s going on with Bucky as he’s cryogenically frozen in Wakanda. The page of the comic we’re able to see shows Shuri showing T’Challa exactly how she plans to fix Bucky. She’s developed an algorithm that will keep Bucky’s memories intact, but stop the trigger words from turning him into a murderous psychopath. She also brags about what her work will do for Wakandan A.I. technology because she’s just that brilliant.

(Via Marvel)

That last line is very sweet, too. Bucky Barnes can finally rest, and Steve will be very happy to hear that. Just like any good boyfriend. These prelude comics aren’t essential to understanding what’s going on in Infinity War, but they’re usually fun side-stories. You might even pick up on little details in the movie you’d otherwise miss. From this page alone, it’s looking like this will be a series well worth picking up. Especially if you have a lot of love for Bucky Barnes. Like certain editors of this website.

Speaking of T’Challa, we got to see just a little bit more of his upcoming solo movie. The action portion of this clip was already shown off on The Ellen Show earlier this week, but this new, more complete clip adds some context to the energetic car chase. And by context, I mean a car that turns invisible. Wakanda just gets cooler with every new look we get at it.

I also love the brother-sister banter. You can tell their relationship is going to be a big part of this movie, and Chadwick Boseman and Letitia Wright have amazing chemistry together. It’s not hard to imagine people walking out of the theater with Shuri as their new favorite Marvel character. Of course, this is mostly an excuse to post that kinetic energy car flip again. That shot’s never getting old.

With Black Panther and Infinity War out this year, there’s never been a better time to rewatch all the Marvel Cinematic Universe movies in order. When you get to Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 though, you might want to pay extra close attention. Director James Gunn filed both Guardians movies with Easter Eggs and references to other parts of the Marvel canon. Fans have been pretty good at finding them, except apparently for one. Gunn started a twitter thread praising an Easter egg hunter who’s been looking for an Easter Egg in the first Guardians of the Galaxy that no one has been able to find yet. That’s when this exchange happened.

Straight from the director himself, there is a secret hidden in GOTG Vol. 2 that it even diehard fans have found yet. Unfortunately, Gunn didn’t reveal any more than that, so we have no idea where to start looking. That bar scene is where we first meet Yondu’s old crew wouldn’t be a bad place to look. Or maybe there’s something in the bedside drawer Groot goes digging through. Given that nobody’s found it yet though, it could be somewhere no one’s thought to look yet. Happy mid-MCU-marathon hunting.

Poster for Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 (Photo via Disney/Marvel)

Finally, it’s no secret that every movie studio wishes they could replicate the success of the MCU, but that’s proven to be a difficult task, especially for Warner Bros. and the DCEU. But why is that? Why do Marvel movies get so much more love at best box office? According to AdWeek, one study has figured out Marvel’s secret. It’s all about character.

A company called ZappiStore studied people’s reactions while they watched trailers for Marvel and DC movies. While people reacted positively to the action in DC’s trailers, they didn’t respond as strongly to moments when the characters were on screen. During the Marvel trailers on the other hand, people reacted just as strongly to both the characters and the action. The company says Marvel has just done a much better job of creating a connection between the audience and their characters. It sounds simple, but it’s clearly important. Especially after Justice League’s less-than-amazing performance at the box office. So if you want to see MCU-level success, it’s clear what you have to do: Write good characters. Who could’ve guessed?